The most highly-anticipated documentary ever has already become the most widely-viewed original content ever.
The best part is that we have eight more hours to enjoy.
I want to give a few of my biggest takeaways from the first two episodes. I will start by saying that people in my age range are infatuated with Michael Jordan because it reminds us of our formative years. He is also the ultimate winner, winning six NBA titles in the 1990s, and being named MVP each time.
Many people that discredit him also did not watch basketball in the 90s so it’s easy to use stats in favor of their argument. People need to remember that to disparage the talent in the 90s is to completely ignore that great players existed then too. Yes maybe they weren’t 6’8 270 lbs, but players evolve over time. During that period, there was Shaq , Alonzo Mourning, Karl Malone, Patrick Ewing, David Robinson, Charles Barkley, Hakeem Olajuwon, Dikembe Mutumbo. So yes, it’s a foolish argument to mention how big players were. It’s all relative.
Positives
- They captured the essence of Jordan being a global sensation
Look at how he was revered by fans in Paris. It was as if the Beatles did one more tour. It went beyond the game of basketball. There’s probably only a handful of athletes in the history of North American sports that have the name recognition of Jordan and he was the only one during that era.
- Depicting Jordan as a competitive force of nature
We saw on two occasions just how competitive he was. First, he forced his way back onto the court despite breaking his foot earlier in the 1986 season. The expectation was that he would miss the remainder of the year. The Chicago Bulls front office allowed him to go back to UNC to finish his degree. Little did they know he was playing 5 on 5 games. He came back and helped get the Bulls into the playoffs despite a 30-52 record. That was not indicative of him, considering he wasn’t playing most of the season. They allowed him to play 7 minutes per quarter and he fought tooth-and-nail to play more than that. They wound up getting into the playoffs and facing arguably the greatest team of all-time – the ’86 Celtics – which featured four future Hall of Famers. Despite no help from teammates, he put up 49 and 63 in back-to-back games. His detractors like to point out that they were swept and it was a first round series. I would say it was a miracle they took a 65-win team to double OT on the road. The other instance we saw was during that practice when they got off to the 0-3 start, he was screaming at teammates during practice. Keep in mind this was a team coming off back-to-back NBA titles and he’s treating a practice with playoff intensity. That’s another reason why he’s the greatest.
- The game footage is remarkable
They really nailed the game footage. The music, the edits, the intensity. It’s all so authentic. Considering we haven’t had live sports in over 6 weeks, it was really exciting to watch that. They also did a great job showing his days at UNC and interviewing everyone involved.
- They captured the essence of the doldrums that Bulls’ basketball was in
I think this gets forgotten. The Bulls were awful and they were an afterthought in a city that was obsessed with the Bears (historic 1985 season was Jordan’s rookie year), the Cubs and the Blackhawks. They needed a superstar and they got lucky that the Trailblazers passed on Jordan in favor of Sam Bowie. What an awful decision that was. They also haven’t been back to the Finals since Jordan’s departure. By the way, it’s pretty amazing how far the pendulum has swung in favor of the players. In 1998, even Michael Jordan couldn’t convince the Bulls’ front office to keep him over the GM. Now players like James Harden and Kawhi Leonard can force trades by sitting home or tweeting.
- They nailed how rare this situation was
An all-time great coach and player both admitting before the season that the next season would be their last one together. They did it at the peak of their powers, in an era where players weren’t easily accessible. When you think of 2020, you realize players rarely communicate their next move before it is official. I mean think about the Tom Brady situation. It’s the exact same. Except he never let anyone know what was going on in his head until we finally found out last month. Now, the barriers between fans and players are so thin because of social media, live streams and The Players’ Tribune and we still had no idea. In 1998, you hoped that they went on record saying something to a newspaper or on live television. They rarely say anything of value now on record. In fact, they really only try to put out anything of value on their own platforms. So the fact that this was definitely going to be their last run made it extremely rare.
Negatives
- The only real issue I had was that they really harped on the Jerry Krause story line. The man passed away in 2017 so it was a little strange to dance on his grave like that. I will admit, though, that if this is a documentary that’s meant to be honest and real than it’s understandable to mention how significant this rift was.
I’m really looking forward to the next 8 episodes. I’m curious how they touch on Jordan’s personal life which was always a taboo topic in media considering his gambling addiction. I also would like to see some details on his contract discussions. He was making so much more money than the rest of the league – he was worth it – but that had to be a wild negotiating process to come up with those figures. Also, what was he thinking when he walked away from the game the first time? What did he do for three years from the summer of 1998 to the summer of 2001? Were the Bulls mad when he did Space Jam? It turned out to be a great idea but definitely a strange move at the time?
